Bauer's place in art history is linked to the lives of two people: Solomon R. Guggenheim and Hilla Rebay, the Guggenheim Museum's founding director. Bauer and Rebay met in Berlin at Galerie Der Sturm in 1917, where they were both exhibiting work. The two remained close and championed each others' artistic and personal endeavors from afar, exchanging letters throughout their lives. Rebay moved to New York in 1927 where she quickly became acquainted with the avant-garde scene, and became close with Solomon Guggenheim, introducing him to Bauer's work.
Guggenheim collected predominantly works by Bauer and Kandinsky, many of them acquired directly through Bauer in Germany. As Rebay described to Bauer, "Mr. Guggenheim likes the Kandinsky very much but [he likes] yours better. He would like all your most recent works. He is very excited and wants nothing else in his bedroom."
In preparation for the 1959 opening of the Guggenheim Museum, Bauer wrote to Rebay at her request for advice "Instead of the word museum, I must try to find another one, perhaps something like antimuseum." It was this outlook that shaped the original intentions of the Guggenheim Museum, which Rebay remained the curator of for quite some time. After her passing in 1967, the art in her estate joined the museum's permanent collection, which included a vast collection of Bauer's work.
